Question reference: S5O-01118
- Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 7 June 2017
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Current status: Answered by John Swinney on 14 June 2017
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the action it is taking to close the attainment gap.
Answer
The Scottish Government has committed £750m during the course of this Parliament through the Attainment Scotland Fund to provide targeted support for children, schools and communities to close the poverty related attainment gap. In 2017-18 this includes £120m which will be allocated directly to schools on the basis of the numbers of pupils in P1-S3 known to be eligible and registered for free school meals, at a rate of £1,200 per pupil. This funding is on top of the existing £50m Attainment Scotland Funding that will continue to provide targeted support to authorities and schools in the communities with high levels of deprivation.
The National Improvement Framework addresses a key OECD recommendation that we develop a mechanism for robustly monitoring young people’s progress. In December, the Scottish Government will publish this year's National Improvement Framework and Improvement Plan. This will provide a complete picture of how children are progressing with their learning and the action to be taken to close the poverty related attainment gap.